Shoe clip



new. 3, 1940. H, ,Q TT 2,223,457

SHOE CLIP Filed Sept. 1, 1939 Patented Dec. 3, 1940 g William H. Nutt, Beverly, Mass., assigncr to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a. corporation of New Jersey Application September 1, 1939, Serial No. 293,030

- Claims. (c1. 12-107 i This invention relates to improvements in devices for use in the manufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated as embodiedin a spring clip for use in lasting certain types of shoes.

i In lasting shoes of the single soled type in which the sole is split from the heel to the ball line andalso about the periphery of the forepart,

operators frequently find that their rate of pr0- duction is considerably retarded because of difficulty in controlling the position of the channel lip. The lip has a tendency to return to its closedposition, so that the operator must use one.:hand to hold it out of the way, leaving only one hand free to perform the actual lasting operation. To overcome this difficulty operators sometimes resort to the expedient of tacking the lip in open position, but this leaves tack holes which mar the appearance of the sole of the finished shoe.

A similar problem is encountered in working on the shank and heel portions of the bottoms of suchshoes, both when lasting and when attaching a shank stiffener and shank reinforcing piece. Here also the loose heel flap is sometimes tacked to the forepart, but for the reasons indi cated above, this is undesirable.

With these considerations in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for holding the lip of a sole in a position whereit will not interfere with lasting or other operations'in which the channel plays a part and which will also hold the shank and heel portions of the sole away from the shoe bottom, so that they will be out of the way of operations on those parts of the shoe.

Accordingly, the invention provides a spring clip having side portions arranged to hold the lip in upright or open position. The invention further contemplates means integral with this clip for holding a flap split from the heel and shank portion of the sole in such a position that it will not interfere with operations on the shank and heel. I

The invention will be better understood when considered in relation to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the spring clip; and

I Fig. 2 illustrates the clip being used on a shoe. Referring now to Fig. 1 the clip is composed of wire preferably of such a temper'that it has a considerable amountof inherent resilience. As illustrated, the cross section of the side members ID of the clip is triangular but it may, if desired,

be circular, semi-circular, or of any other suitable shape. These side portions are shaped substantially like the periphery of the forepart of i r r a shoe, and toward the heel ends 12 they are curved inwardly toward each other so that they form an open ended member approximating an oval in shape. It is desirable thatthe distance between points on the side members ill should be slightly less than the distance between corresponding points of the channel base at opposite sides of the forepart. Thus, the laterally yieldableside members must be separated somewhat in orderto fit over the lip, and when in position will exert a light pressure against the base of the channel lip and thus hold the lip in upright position.

The toe ends it of the side portions are bent upwardly and are provided with means to grip the forwardly-bent heel end of the sole or of a flap split from the sole. As illustrated herein the wire is formed into a number of ofisets or open loops l6. These offsets are staggered relative to one another so that the end of the sole .(or of the flap) may he slipped between them into a space slightly narrower than the thickness of the sole. The resiliency of the wire will thus cause the offsets to grip the sole between them, and hold it away from the heel end of the shoe.

Use of this clip is particularly advantageous in the manufacture of shoes of the type illustrated in Fig. 2. This shoe is of the single sole type in which the outsole I8 is split from the heel approximately to the ball line, and is also split or grooved about the periphery of the forepart, thereby forming a lip 28. A shank stiffener 22 and a fiber reinforcing piece 24 are attached to the body 26 of the sole at the heel end, and the sole is then placed on a last. The lasting operations consist in pulling an upper 28 over a last L and securing it in the channel or groove about the forepart and also to the fiber reinforcing piece 24.

In the performing of these latter steps the operator would be considerably handicapped by the loose channel lip 2i! and the heel flap 3!). Accordingly, after the outsole has been channeled and the heel flap split oil, the side portions it of the clip are separated slightly and slipped over the channel lip 26. In this position, the clip exerts a pressure against the lip and thus holds it in upright position, leaving the channel free for lasting operations. The heel flap 30 of the sole is then brought forward and tucked in between the offsets l 6 at the toe end of the clip. The resilience of the wire causes the ofisets to grip the heel flap firmly between them so that the operator has both hands free to work with. The offsets do not injure the leather, and the flap may be easily released at the desired time.

It is understood that the clip may be used in other ways and in the manufacture of other types of shoes as, for example, in holding the lip of a stitch-receiving channel of a welt or McKay shoe in open. position. It will be obvious that various modifications in the structure of the clip may be made without departing from the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

1. A spring clip for use in the manufacture of shoes, said clip having side portions adapted to engage the channel lip of a sole at opposite sides of the forepart from the ball line to the toe thereof, said side portions being normally spaced apart a distance less than the distance between the portions of the channel base on opposite sides of the sole forepart, whereby the inherent resilience of the clip will operate to hold the channel lip in open position.

2. A spring clip for use in the manufacture of shoes, said clip comprising a laterally yieldable wire member of the same shape as but smaller than the periphery of the forepart of a sole, and adapted to fit into the base of a lasting channel formed in said sole to hold the channel lip in an upright position.

3. A device having in combination, means for holding the lip of a sole channel in open position, and means for holding the-heel end of the sole out of the way of operations on the heel and shank portions of a shoe.

4. A spring clip for use in the manufacture of shoes, said clip having yieldable side portions constructed and arranged to hold the lip of a sole channel in open position and having at one end thereof a member for holding the heel end of the sole out of the wayof operations on the shank and heel of said shoe.

5. A spring clip for use in the manufacture of shoes, said clip comprising a wire member having a shape corresponding to-the periphery of the forepart of the sole on which it 'is to be used, and means for holding the heel end of the sole out of the way of operations on the shank or heel portions of the shoe bottom.

' WILLIAM H. NUTT. 

